200 years ago The Luddites used humor, spectacle, narrative, and myth

From The Right To Be Lazy. Ned Ludd was a fictitious leader. Costumes, jokes, and more. Here’s an excerpt:

“The Luddites, as they soon became known, were dead serious about their protests. … But they were also making fun, dispatching officious-sounding letters that began, ‘Whereas by the Charter’…and ended ‘Ned Lud’s Office, Sherwood Forest.’ Invoking the sly banditry of Nottinghamshire’s own Robin Hood suited their sense of social justice. The taunting, world-turned-upside-down character of their protests also led them to march in women’s clothes as ‘General Ludd’s wives.’